Initial Licensure Programs Admission Requirements

Admission Criteria for the School of Education

Admission to the university does not guarantee admission to a major in the School of Education. To be accepted into the School of Education, teacher candidates are required to complete nine Initial Licensure Admittance Tasks such as School of Education Application, Statement of Understanding, IEIN # (Illinois Educator Identification Number), Criminal Background Check, Tuberculosis (TB) Test, and four Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) forms.

All Initial Licensure Admittance Tasks can be found within candidate Tevera accounts.

GPA Requirements for Student Teaching

At the time of applying for student teaching, a teacher candidate must have a cumulative program GPA of at least 2.75. One semester prior to student teaching a teacher candidate is required to have a cumulative program GPA of at least 3.0.

Retention Criteria

In addition to the GPA requirements, in order to enroll in student teaching a teacher candidate must be fully admitted to the School of Education as outlined above in Admission Criteria for the School of Education and have passed the Illinois State Board of Education Content Area Test(s) (ILTS) and have no outstanding negative dispositions.

• ILTS Content Exam Policy
• Initial Licensure Disposition Policy

Exit Criteria

Candidates must demonstrate satisfactory progress through completion of all required coursework and credit hours, including student teaching and successful completion of the edTPA, in order to be recommended for teacher licensure.

Illinois State Board of Education Program Changes

The School of Education is continuously redesigning its programs based on current research, ISBE mandates, state law, and the university’s conceptual framework. All teacher candidates must be cognizant of the possibility that a redesign may alter requirements included in the catalog and the program of study could be subjected to new required program changes.